Friday, February 10, 2012
Food & Life Zyka closing, Cynthia winning, my brother recovering
Posted by Cliff Bostock on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 10:41 AM
- www.anissas.com
- Where is the tadig?
My source for the rumor is involved in one aspect of the new restaurant's opening. He said the owners have "imported" several chefs from the Middle East.
Is Persian cuisine the new Thai? I mean that it seems to be growing increasingly popular, represented here by restaurants like Sufi's, Perespolis, Fanoos, Mirage, and Rumi's Kitchen. All of those except Sufi's are located in Little Persia, heretofore called Sandy Springs.
Names like Sufi's and Rumi's Kitchen refer to a deeply aesthetic, heart-based branch of Islam. It would be cool if the new restaurant, which I'm told will have a very luxe look, featured some playful, modern riffs on classic Persian. But what I most want is some tadig — the Persian version of the crunchy rice from the bottom of the pot favored in other rice-based cuisines....
GO, CYNTHIA: Cynthia Wong, Empire State South's pastry chef, is nominated for Food & Wine Magazine's "People's Best New Pastry Chef" award. If you're familiar with Cynthia's goodies, including her famous "phatty cakes," you can cast your vote for her on Food & Wine's website.
Cynthia was earlier at Cakes & Ale and wrote the Cheap Eats column for Creative Loafing while working at Via Elisa....
PERSONAL NOTE: Over the years, I've received a lot of email and comments on this blog asking if I was related to Robert "Boz" Bostock, the owner of the popular Gnat's Landing in St. Simons Island.
Most of the time, I've ignored the question, since I didn't want to be accused of family bias. But, yes, of course, he's my brother and the restaurant is just about a perfect representation of Robert's wacky personality. (He also owns Bubba Garcia's.)
I was informed two days ago that Robert is very sick. He is in an ICU on a ventilator after undergoing an emergency cardiac procedure. He's expected to recover, but it's rough going.
You can find a report on the restaurant's blog, "Boz's Buzz," about his condition. The post, written by Robert's wife Mary and my youngest brother Steve, is a good example of my family's long habit of finding humor somewhere in the worst of circumstances. Our culture, in large part thanks to Freud, has a habit of viewing everything through a tragic lens, but the comic lens is just as valid at times, shocking us awake in depression and sabotaging complete descent into despair.
I thought Atlanta fans of the restaurant would like to know.
Events Weekend Food Events, Feb. 10-12: Anti-Valentine's Day, a whisky tasting, and more
Posted by Kelsey Clodfelter on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 10:33 AM
Ray's Killer Creek Fri.-Sun., Feb. 10-12. Valentine's Day Dinner. Ray’s at Killer Creek celebrating Valentine's Day starting on Friday. The restaurant is offering a special prix-fixe menu for couples, as well as the regular dinner menu. The cost is $120 per couple, tax and gratuity not included. Details
Mood Lounge Fri., Feb. 10, 9 p.m. Krewe of Moods Costume Ball. Get a big taste of Mardi Gras in Atlanta at Mood Lounge’s Krewe of Moods Costume Ball. The party will feature New Orleans style cuisine and cocktails, including Hurricanes, Cyclones, Hand Grenades and Pisco Sazaracs. A costume is required. Details
Der Biergarten Fri., Feb. 10, 7 p.m. Schlagerparty. Atlanta's second Schlagerparty at Der Biergarten will feature drink specials and a carnival costume contest. Details
News Peter Chang (or Peter Cheng) moves to Richmond - ties to Atlanta remain unclear
Posted by Besha Rodell on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 9:30 AM
- James Camp
- Peter Chang
For the past year, Chang has been splitting his time between the restaurant in Charlottesville and another, called simply Peter Chang, in Atlanta. (The two restaurants have different ownerships, though Chang has an interest in each.) With Lee acting as interpreter, Chang said he is relocating to Richmond to make the new Peter Chang Cafe his base, a place to train chefs in authentic Sichuan cuisine.
But this morning, Carmen told me via Twitter that he had spoken to Chang about his Atlanta business and said that "Chang indicated the partner(s) wasn't interested in his expansion plans." Which sounds to me like he's jumped ship.
No one is answering the phone at Peter Cheng's - it is 9 a.m. after all. We'll update you when we hear back from them.
Food media Jack in the Box Super Bowl commercial undermines marriage
Posted by Cliff Bostock on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 9:28 AM
'Tis the season to be an idiot. I'm talking about electoral politics.
In case you missed it, check out Jack in the Box's Superbowl commercial:
Silly stuff. But possibly insidious in its intent, according to a blogger with the National Organization of Marriage. (That's NOM as in nom-nom-nom.) He writes: "Tongue-in-cheek (bacon-in-mouth?), I have to wonder if this kind of joke is more funny as our country currently flirts with the notion we can make marriage ... whatever we want it to be." The post is followed by readers' comments trashing the reversal of California's anti-gay-marriage law.
And lest you think the NOM blogger was alone, others have been more explicitly outraged. At least one real-life politician saw the commercial as a morality tale. For real. So far, Rick Santorum has not expressed an opinion.
News / Gravy Train Gravy Train: "Top Chef" auditions in Atlanta, get funky at The Boom Boom Room
Posted by Laura Horton on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 9:18 AM
- Sushi Nami's new location
Tavern 99 is bringing sexy back with The Boom Boom Room, a new weekend bar-within-a-bar concept in the Buckhead bar’s back room. They’ll serve a menu of flatbread pizzas (including some dessert pizzas), and DJ Romeo Cologne will spin 70’s and 80’s funk. The Boom Boom Room is open Friday and Saturday nights from 11 p.m. until 2:30 a.m.
Brown’s BBQ, which has been in the catering business for a while now, recently opened a brick and mortar location at 2148 Johnson Ferry Road in the Chamblee area. They’ve got all the classic barbecue favorites. Brown’s is open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday - Sunday.
What Now Atlanta reports in on Big Kahuna, a new Cali-Mex restaurant opening in SunTrust Plaza downtown. According to the press release, the restaurant will “feel like sitting in a friend’s beach house,” which should be interesting in the middle of downtown. The owners plan to open multiple locations.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Food & Life Why do we hate processed food again?
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Processed food is the enemy because it makes us fat, right? It's full of high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, and all those evil carbs that that contribute to excessive weight gain and obesity. Ew. Wait, what about the correlation between processed foods and heart disease? Cancer? Diabetes? Surely that's enough to convince people to stop eating food made with ingredients like ethyl methylphenylglycidate, 4-methylacetophenone, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, and cinnamyl isobutyrate. Remember that whole, "If you can't pronounce it, do you really want to eat it?" campaign? Is that still a thing? Well maybe not so much given that we are still hearing about people like Stacey Irvine, the 17-year-old girl who was rushed to the hospital last week when she collapsed after eating chicken nuggets—every day—for 15 years. Not to mention the fact that the bad stuff tastes so effin' good, AND it's ready to eat in as little as 2 measly minutes on HIGH.
It's surprisingly easy to ignore the entire compendium of knowledge published on the dangers of processed foods, perhaps because the consequences are long-term, and happen slowly over time. (Or maybe you just have a taste for shitty food.) However, according to 2011 TEDxManhattan Fellow Stefani Bardin’s video, there's an immediate, practical reason to avoid processed food as well: our bodies can barely digest it. Using an M2A (it stands for Mouth 2 Anus, tee hee!) LED capsule camera, Bardin's video captures just how our bodies react to processed foods vs. natural foods. The experiment follows the digestion of two subjects, one who ate Top Ramen noodles, the other, homemade ramen. The results are shocking. Hold off on the Hot Pocket and see for yourself.
Food media 'Top Chef' season 9, episode 14
Posted by Debbie Michaud on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 12:38 PM
- Bravo TV/NBC Universal
- BEV? C'MAAAN!
As I predicted, Bev beat Grayson in LCK. Bev's thrilled to be back - look! she still has that sign she made for herself that says she wins $125,000! Sarah has murder in her eyes. "Bev's in her own little Bev world and I'm not buying a ticket to visit."
Padma and Tom get a real kick out of watching the cheftestants grope each other in the pantry during the Quickfire, in which they have 30 minutes to blindly grab ingredients and then cook. I very much enjoy the visible thrill Tom gets out of setting people up to fail. The winner of the Quickfire gets to choose his or her prize - immunity, and therefore a secured spot in the final four, or a new Prius. There's a lot of jawing, by Ed in particular (FORESHADOWING), about how if the winner chooses immunity they don't have the confidence in their cooking to win. PLEASE. This show's about a lot of things - eyebrows, barbecue, crying, Indian supermodels - the least of which is cooking ability. THAT'S WHY THEY BLINDFOLD YOU AND SEND YOU INTO PANTRIES TO MAKE FOOD OUT OF PAPER TOWELS AND PORK CASINGS. Sarah's corn/peach/mushroom soup wins and she chooses immunity. Smart gal.
Food media Internet voting: Vote for the best/hottest/least smelly chef!!
Posted by Besha Rodell on Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 11:07 AM
Eater Atlanta is currently holding a competition to find the hottest chef in Atlanta. I'd make fun of the idea if it weren't bad timing for me to do so, seeing as our own annual Lust List hit the streets today. But if you take a look down the list and see some of the winners...well, let's just say that in a world where certain people can be deemed that much hotter than certain other people, it's obvious that the internets have broken our collective brains.
Food & Wine has added a new category to their popular Best New Chefs issue, including now Best New Pastry Chefs. Cool for them - I'm all for giving props to the sweeter side of the industry. You can also vote for your favorite pastry chef in the People's Choice portion of the awards. Atlanta's Pamela Moxley of Miller Union is in the running, as is Cynthia Wong of Empire State South. Last year, during the voting for People's Choice for regular chefs, I got quite a few phone calls from local chefs (not in the running) bitching about the system, saying how it was just a cynical way for the media outlet to get tons of pageviews, nominating folks and then getting those people to do a bunch of work pushing people to the publication's website to vote for them. It makes Yelp look like a scientific study in quality by comparison.
All that said...make sure to join in this summer when we put up our extra special Best Of Atlanta online voting page!!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Food & Life What to eat next time you're in prison
Posted by Stephanie Dazey on Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Apparently life behind bars isn't enough to deter a truly dedicated cook from their craft. At least not for the six female inmates at the Mountain View Unit prison in Gatesville, Tx. who recently released From the Big House to Your House. This unique cookbook consists of recipes using only ingredients that are available in prison. Needless to say, From the Big House to Your House is an intriguing look at what eating is like behind bars.
According to activist website WomenAndPrison.org, "they transform crushed potato chips, sandwich cookie crème filling, powdered milk, cream cheese packets, and chili seasoning into snacks, dips, desserts, and even complete meals."
Not only are the ingredients limited to what can be purchased from the prison commissary, their only heat source is a quart-sized "hot pot." (boiling water=deadly weapon)
Recipes range from dishes like "Almost Teriyaki Soup," to "Peanut Rice," and "Delightful Tuna Nachos." Sound gross? Well co-author Celeste Johnson agrees. "I know it sounds disgusting," said Johnson in an AP profile. "But I love tuna nachos. And I've got so many people here converted to it."
Another interesting feature of the cookbook are the "DID YOU KNOW?" blurbs. Each one reveals an interesting, and at times shocking, fact regarding the prison industrial complex, drawing on national statistics and the experiences of the inmates themselves. For example, did you know that "inmates are allowed to shower every day for about 10 minutes. When the unit is on lockdown, inmates are allowed one shower every day for about five minutes."
More after the jump
Events Winter Beer Carnival
Posted by Kelsey Clodfelter on Wed, Feb 8, 2012 at 12:03 PM
The 3rd Annual Winter Beer Carnival is going down at Atlantic Station on Sat., Feb. 11, 3-7 p.m. The lineup is 100 brews strong and just shy of making it through the beer alphabet (someone hurry up and open a brewery that starts with the letter X, already). And, as the title implies, this is no ordinary beer festival. Oh no. This is a carnival, complete with sundry games and activities. That means that you and your friends can sample a smorgasbord of beers and do what inebriated people do best: act like children.
Regular, all-you-can-drink tickets are $40 and come with a sampling glass. VIP tickets are $60 and include early entry and special access to obscure, fancy brews.
If you can't make it this weekend, not to fear. There is a major beer event every month in the foreseeable future. Festival hoppers (yeah, that's a pun) can certainly keep themselves busy, at least for the first half of 2012. In January, there was the Winter Beerfest at the Masquerade. In March, there's the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival, part of a multicity tour. In April, there's the Sweetwater 420 Fest, and in May, the East Atlanta Beer Fest.
